To Hush, Or Not to Hush
by vez
Summary: Percy has been hearing voices. The question is whose voices are they and will listening to them lead him to ruin? Chapter 3 updated! The answers to *most* of your questions are revealed!!
1. Default Chapter

                                                To Hush, Or Not to Hush

                                                By: vez

            It was an unspoken truth: the moment you begin to hear voices in your head, you were considered insane. Percy Weasley never heard voices in his head. In fact, he never heard words that were never meant to be spoken. Anyone who knew Percy realised that he was an extremely stable young man. The term crazy never was used to describe the straight laced Weasley. 

            It was true. Percy was not crazy. He was _something else_ altogether. 

            If you were part of the Weasley clan, you would be accustomed to noise. It was fact and useless to get away from. Fred and George alone could and on many occasions had brought the house down with their pranks and 'experiments'. It was no wonder why Percy desperately treasured peace and quiet. Some might claim that quiet or the lack of sound denoted emptiness in one's life. To Percy, quiet was simply a lack of noise. 

            While Percy never heard voices in his head, he was constantly aware of them. Certain things whisper to him, especially when he was alone. These voices were neither taunting nor horrifying. They were friendly, benign even.  The voices were unfortunately always there and they refused to go away. 

            On mornings when Oliver had Quidditch practice back in Hogwarts, Percy would have the whole room to himself. There were no interruptions and no noise. It was just Percy and blissful, sacred silence. He would spend those moments doing absolutely nothing --  just staring at the ceiling or out the window. No thoughts would go through his head. Even the voices were the quietest during those moments.  Percy felt complete. Although it felt cliché, he felt one with the universe. The voices surrounding him seemed to agree. He never really knew where the voices came from and exactly whose voices it was. Although they spoke to him, Percy never replied. It was strictly a one-way conversation. All Percy did was to listen to them.   

            He didn't hear the voices all his life. In fact, it was only during the dark times, the War with Voldemort, that the voices started to whisper to him. Percy always considered the voices his friends. It was so very lonely during the war. His two older brothers were in school and his father was in the Ministry. The rest of his siblings were too young to do anything. The only other person who was old enough to talk to and entertain four year old Percy was his mother. But Mother always seemed so exhausted and worried. No matter how many times she held Percy and told him not to be afraid, he knew she was lying. During those dark times, fear and silence dominated. There was no energy or room for the sound of laughter or play. That was why the only playmates Percy had were the voices. For the longest time, he thought the voices belonged to his fairy godmother or father who took pity of his loneliness. As he got to be older, it didn't seem to be important anymore. 

            The voices never left him alone after that. They were loyal to him. When he left for Hogwarts, they followed him there. Even when he graduated and had his own apartment, he could hear the same voices. However, over the years, the voices grew louder and louder. More voices were fighting to be heard. They were all clamouring for his attention. 

            It was all getting to be too loud! Where was the peace and quiet Percy craved?

            The voices were starting to become noise and if there was one thing he absolutely hated, it was noise. What made things worse was that his apartment was situated in London. London never slept, be it the muggle or wizarding side. The noise was getting to him. It was even starting to show in his work. The mistakes he made were small and quickly corrected. Percy was lucky he spotted them before it was handed in to his superior.  The thing was that Percy never made mistakes, not even the tiniest of errors. 

            It became glaringly obvious that Percy had a problem and he had to find a solution, fast. One way was to move to a quieter place, in the countryside or even back to the Burrow. After all, there was no one left in the house except for Mother and Father. But Percy never liked to deceive himself. The problem wasn't really the noise of London. The truth was Percy loved London. He admired the fact that the city was overflowing with life. When he lived there, the city gave him a sense of purpose. It was as if Percy was part of something important. The problem was the voices he heard. How was he going to convince them to away? 

            As soon as he thought about the voices leaving him, Percy felt a wave of sadness wash over him. He would be left alone again. Sure, he had family and friends. There was no more war, there was no need to go in hiding. Whenever he felt alone, he could always give someone a visit or invite someone for lunch or dinner. He didn't really need the voices anymore did he? Unfortunately, Percy was never very good with social situations. What if no one wanted to spend time with him when the voices left? Who would he turn to? 

            What was he going to do? He couldn't live with the voices but he wasn't sure if he wanted to live without the voices. What was life anyway? Percy remembered spending most of his time making sure his younger siblings were not in any trouble. Even when he left Hogwarts, he came back the next year as a judge for the tournament. It seems like all his life was spent worrying after his siblings.  Come to think of it, he hadn't really lived his life, has he? All he did was to live for them, not himself.

            Percy Weasley was a problem solver. There was no problem that was too difficult for this young man. He would find his own solution, sooner or later. 

To be continued…..

Author's note: If you liked it, please review it! J This piece of work was inspired by The Hours, which I thought was an excellent movie although a little confusing. I haven't been writing Percy in a while and I fear I might be losing my touch. Anyway, real life beckons! 


	2. Percy's Solution Presents Itself

Chapter 2 : Percy's solution presents itself         

            At the tender age of nine, Percy Weasley announced to his family during dinner that he wanted to be the Minister of Magic. It was normal for young children to have great ambitions and parents usually replied those kinds of pronouncements with a distracted "That's very nice, dear". 

            Arthur and Molly Weasley said no such thing. Instead they told Percy that they were proud he wanted to work with the Ministry. Even Percy's older brothers, Bill and Charlie didn't laugh at him. All of them took Percy's words very seriously. It was a huge possibility that Percy would in fact become the next Minister of Magic. At nine it was already apparent that Percy was extremely intelligent and stubborn to boot. 

            If Percy Weasley really wanted to become the Minister of Magic, he will become the Minister of Magic.

            Percy's ambition never changed and his resolve to become Minister never wavered. In Hogwarts, he showed himself to be a hardworking and astute student. The professors were all extremely impressed with him (including Snape who would rather die that admit it). Percy topped his class in every year. By the time he was in the fifth year, he became a prefect. In the seventh year, he was appointed the Head Boy. By the end of the school year, he had gotten the highest scores for the NEWTS Hogwarts had seen in over 200 years. There was nothing this boy could not do. What he wanted, he achieved. There was no one else with a future brighter than Percy Weasley. He seemed to have everything he needed and was on the fast track to becoming Minister and thus achieving his life long dream.

            This was the reason why everyone was shocked when they found out that Percy Weasley was declared missing. When Percy failed to report for work after a week long vacation, his superior owled Percy's parents to ask about his whereabouts. Arthur and Molly, in turn asked their children if they had heard any word from Percy. After a few frantic conversations were exchanged via the floo network, no one knew where Percy was.   

Molly Weasley was hysterical when Percy was reported missing. She tried to calm herself down but she could not help feeling afraid for her little boy. Her thoughts were in a mess as she tried to figure out what happened to Percy: 

There was no reason for Percy to run away! He had a bright future ahead of him! He had no problems, financially or otherwise. Was he unhappy? Maybe we didn't pay enough attention to him. Kidnapped?! Or in some kind of danger? Foul play, perhaps? But he was a good boy! He never got into trouble, ever! Please, Merlin, please find my son…

            Twenty-four hours had past since Percy was officially declared missing. The Ministry did everything and anything they could do to trace him.  The Ministry even contacted the other Ministries of Magic all over the world about his disappearance.  Countless of tracking spells later, no one had any lead as to where he was. The last anyone had seen of him was in Asia, where he was vacationing. After that, _poof!_ It was like he dropped off from the face of the planet. 

            Percy Weasley was nowhere to be found…..

To be continued….

Author's note:  Sorry for the long wait for this part. Being a surveyor is hard work! I'm well aware that this chapter is pretty short. But that's because the next part is gonna be really, really long. Really! **grins  **What did happen to Percy? Hmmmm….. Again, if you liked it, please review it! I'm off to watch Adaptations….

To all my reviewers : : Thank you! And you all get a purr from my kitten Mr. Moo

Snape's Slave and Sarah Anna : I hoped you watch The Hours already and were impressed by it. 

Starlitangel64 :  Real life is annoying, ain't it? Hope you like this chapter..

MidnightLoner : You'll find out in the next chapter.

Jenny: Wow! You have a lot of questions..but I don't mind. The War with Voldermort I was referring to is actually the first one, you know when Lilly and James died and Harry got the scar. As for Percy acting weirdly, no one really notices.. Perce doesn't like to tell people about his problems..Poor Percy has to do it all by his lonesome self. 


	3. No One Vanishes Without A Trace

Chapter 3: No One Vanishes Without A Trace 

            Lunch had been an extremely quiet and awkward affair. After exchanging pleasantries, both of them seemed to have run out of things to say to each other. Anyone who glanced at this odd couple would have thought that they were on a first date or worse, a blind date.

            They ate their food in relative silence. They only words they said to each other was to praise how good the pasta was or how the cheese really does melt in one's mouth. It was a boring conversation, bordering on frustrating. Both had so much to say to each other but neither was brave enough to actually _start_ talking.

            It was only when they went for a walk that the two gradually seem to remember that they weren't complete strangers. There was no reason for them to tiptoe around each other. After all, weren't they old, old friends? Percy spied a bench that promised privacy and beckoned his companion to follow. Once they were settled comfortably and were sure that there were no prying eyes or ears, the true conversation began.

Ariel smiled warmly at the ex-Head Boy of Hogwarts. "I've missed you. What have you been doing these days?"

            "I got myself a new job. I'm helping out at this small bookstore around the corner. A husband and wife own the bookstore. It has been in the family for generations. They treat me well. I babysit and tutor their nine year old son sometimes," Percy told her. There was a certain change in his voice when he talked about his employer and his family. A certain fondness and longing for _family_. 

            Ariel took his hand in hers and looked deep into his eyes. "You miss your family, don't you? You can always go back, Perce, they've been waiting for you to come back for ten years now." 

She was aware that she had told him the same thing every time they met but she didn't care. He had to be reminded that he had a family waiting desperately for him to be returned to them. He had to know that whenever there was a family gathering at the Burrow, everyone,  everyone who entered the door would automatically look at the family clock. It was the Weasley's unsaid hope that one day Percy's clock hand would  finally settle on Home…

"Percy?"

Her friend had turned away and was looking blankly ahead. This was an old argument between them. It always carried the same pattern these past ten years. Ariel would try to persuade Percy to go home and Percy would stubbornly refuse. However, this year, something changed. His body didn't tense up as it usually does as he would begin his argument. This time, Percy seemed to deflate. When he finally did deign to look at her again, Ariel was not prepared to see the weariness in his eyes. 

"If you want me go back to my old life so badly, why don't you just tell my parents about us? About how we meet once every year for the past ten years now? " 

Ariel didn't even have to think about her answer, " Because you asked me not to tell them anything. You said they wouldn't understand. Besides, I gave you my word."

Percy heard sincerity and loyalty in her reply. "When did a Slytherin ever trap herself with promises? I know you, Ariel. No one could make you do something you didn't want to. If you truly wanted my parents to know about me, you would have found a way to tell them. Perhaps without even breaking your word to me."

He took a deep breath and asked her one more time,  "Why didn't you tell my family?"  His hand had reached out to touch her face and he looked searchingly at her. 

_He really wants to know_, Ariel thought to herself. For some reason, it was really important to him. She folded her hands on her lap and looked down. She chose her words carefully as she revealed to him :

" I remember the night you came to me. You told me about the voices, about how you had to get away from it all. I thought you were stressed out and you needed a break. It never occurred to me that you wanted to leave everything you loved and knew _forever_. Your self-exile worried the hell out of me. For one moment I really thought you were crazy. Then I remembered that Percy Weasley was never insane. Not in a million years." At this juncture, she laughed to herself. _Somedays I think I'm going crazy too_.

" The reason why I helped you disappear ten years ago and why I'm still helping you now is simple: I want you to live. I want you to live not because you still can but because you _want_ to live. I knew if I told you family and if they found you, you would end up taking an overdose of sleeping pills. "

No one said anything for the next few minutes. Unlike earlier in the day where the silence was so thick it was awkward, this silence was comfortable. It was as if they could sit in silence for eternity.

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand  
And Eternity in an hour

          When Percy spoke, it was in slow and measured tones. He wanted Ariel to understand everything that he was saying, while trying to make sure that he understood it himself. "It was getting to crowded at home and in the Magical world. The voices kept on getting louder and I don't know, everyone seems to want my attention. Everyone has a right to choose between life and death. I chose life." 

Authors note: Wow. It's been over a month, hasn't it? My sincerest apologies to everyone who was kept in suspense. I'm not that evil as to torture you all so. My thanks to everyone who has been reading this fic. This chapter is a way of explaining why Percy chose to run away from everything and everyone. I hope it wasn't confusing. Whether there will be a next chapter depends on you guys. If you want to see a reunion between dear Perce and the Weasleys or an alternate ending, please tell me. I might consider it or any other suggestions you put forth. As per normal, if you liked it, please review it! I can't wait for Matrix Reloaded to show..hehe… 


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